Improvement in the methods of attaching seals to cars



W. S. BREWSTER. Method of Attaching; Seals to Gars.

Patented Dec.10,1878.

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UNITED STATES PATE FICE.

VILLIAM S. BREVVSTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE METHODS OF ATTACHING SEALS TO CARS.

Specifica tion forming part of Letters Patent No. 210,746, dated December 10, 1878; application filed December Il, 1877.

To all 'whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. BRnwsTnn,

oi' Chicago, Illinois, have invented a new and useful Method of Attaching Seals to Cars, Src., ot which the following is a clear, full, and exact description, refe-rence being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my iniproved seal. Fig. 2 is a side view ot' the same. Fig. 3 is the blank ready for sealing. Fig. 4 shows the blank after punching and upsetting. Fig. 5 shows the-punch by which my improved seal is made. Fig. G is a section or' the fastening with the burrs punched. Fig. 7 is a sectional view, showing the burrs upset.

The object of my invention is to produce a seal for railway-cars and other places requiring a seal, where this or a similar one can be used, that cannot be opened and placed in its original position as a seal without destroying it, or showing that the attempt had been made to open it, or that it had been opened. To accomplish this I use a friable sheet metal cut into strips ot' requisite length and width, and of a very sharp or brittle liber, and secured in a manner hereinafter described and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe thc exact manner in which I have carried it out.

In the drawings, A represents a narrow strip of sheet metal ot' a sharp or brittle liber, and B shows the punch for joining the strip of metal together. The punch has a sharp triangular point, which cuts and carries through with it the burr or portieri of the metal displaced by it, and this displaced portion of metal, being divided by the triangular punch into three separate and distinctparts, as sh own in Fig. et, stands at right angles to the face ot' the strip. By withdrawing the punch, reversing and reinserting it in the hole made by its passage through the strip, and then pressing on the punch, the burrs or portions carried through, as before described, will be pressed down, and an effective, simple, and cheap metallic seal formed. The leverage of the punch presses the burrs so hard that the ber of the brittle metal is broken, and any attempt to raise or lift them will break them oft' and destroy the seal.

I am aware that tin strips have been used for car-seals; but these have been fastened with an eyelet, which is inserted into a hole already punched, and is then pressed so as to forni a fastening.

My invention does away with the use of the eyelet, thereby reducing' the cost and greatly facilitating the work of sealing ears.

I am aware that metallic seals have heretofore been made ot' strips of metal having openings punched in their ends, the burrs produced by the punching interlocked and upset, and then a soft-metal seal introduced through the opening and the ends upset to hold the ends of the strip together, and prevent the burrs from being straightened and the ends ofthe strip separated. My invention has for its object to do away with this lead seal and greatly cheapen the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as my invention is- The method ot' attaching seals to cars, &c., substantially as herein described, consisting in passing a strip ot' friable sheet metal through the staples, laying the ends coincident and punching them simultaneously with a pointed punch, the burrs of one punched end passing through the other, and then upsetting said burrs, as set forth.

WILLIAM S. BREWSIER.v

Witnesses:

` XV. W. STREET, D. S. MAcnAY. 

